US Steel to restart Illinois blast furnace

Pittsburgh-based United States Steel Corp. has announced it will restart one of two blast furnaces (the “B” blast furnace) at its integrated steelmaking complex in Granite City, Illinois, near St. Louis, in March 2018.

The additional capacity “will support anticipated increased demand for steel in the U.S. from the pending action announced by President Donald J. Trump on March 1, 2018, as a result of the U.S. Department of Commerce Section 232 national security investigation on steel imports,” the company states as part of its announcement.

“Our Granite City Works facility and employees, as well as the surrounding community, have suffered too long from the unending waves of unfairly traded steel products that have flooded U.S. markets,” says U. S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt. “The Section 232 action announced by President Trump recognizes the significant threat steel imports pose to our national and economic security. The president’s strong leadership is needed to begin to level the playing field so companies like ours can compete, win and create jobs that support our employees and the communities in which we operate as well as strengthen our national and economic security. We will continue to support our customers with the high-quality products they have come to expect from U. S. Steel.”

The company indicates it anticipates calling back approximately 500 employees beginning in March 2018. The restart process could take up to four months.

“We’ve worked closely and cooperatively with leadership of the United Steelworkers (USW) to develop a plan that will help us work through the restart process in the safest, most efficient manner possible while enabling longer-term collaboration designed to improve the plant’s competitiveness,” says Burritt. “We appreciate and thank the USW leadership and membership for their passionate efforts around the Section 232 investigation as well as in support of the restart process at Granite City Works. Together, we are committed to ensuring the steel industry remains a fundamental part of American manufacturing because American manufacturing is stronger with American-made steel.”

The company says it expects to provide information on the anticipated financial impact of the restart as more details on President Trump’s executive order become available.

Both Granite City Works blast furnaces and its steelmaking facilities were idled in December 2015, and the plant’s hot strip mill was idled in January 2016 in response to what U.S. Steel calls challenging market conditions, “including global excess steel capacity and unfairly traded imports.”

The pickle line, cold mill and finishing lines at Granite City Works continued to operate. The hot strip mill was restarted in February 2017, but Granite City's “A” blast furnace remains idled.

Canada, Mexico metals tariffs deferred

Proclamations signed by President Donald J. Trump on March 8, 2018, have exempted steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico from new tariffs being levied on imported metal. The new tariffs, to go into effect in late March 2018, put a 25 percent levy on imported steel and 10 percent levy on imported aluminum.

An online report from CNBC indicates exemptions for Canada and Mexico have not been given a deadline, but the president also has indicated they “are not open-ended.”

The president also stated the continuation of the exemptions for the two neighboring nations will depend on progress in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Discussions between the United States, Canada and Mexico to renegotiate NAFTA have been ongoing in 2017 and 2018.

News reports have indicated the president sees deferring the tariffs temporarily as a way to spur the governments of Canada and Mexico into speeding up the NAFTA renegotiation process. “I have a feeling we’re going to make a deal on NAFTA,” Trump was quoted as saying at the March 8 proclamation signing ceremony.

Since President Trump announced the tariffs, Chicago-based primary aluminum producer Century Aluminum has announced it will ramp up production from 40 percent of capacity to closer to 100 percent at its Hawesville, Kentucky, facility. “We look forward to [beginning] the process of restarting the idled potlines at our Hawesville, Kentucky, smelter, bringing back nearly 300 new American jobs to Hancock County, and investing over $100 million to restart and upgrade the smelter’s technology,” states Century Aluminum President and CEO Michael Bless.

In the steel sector, Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel has announced it will restart one of two blast furnaces at its integrated steelmaking complex in Granite City, Illinois, near St. Louis. “The additional capacity will support anticipated increased demand for steel in the United States from the pending action announced by President Donald J. Trump on March 1, 2018, as a result of the U.S. Department of Commerce Section 232 national security investigation on steel imports,” the company states in its news release announcing the restart.

In addition to the exceptions for the two NAFTA trading partners, the Trump administration has indicated it will create an appeals process for other nations to justify why they should be exempt from the tariffs, according to CNBC.

“If the same goals can be accomplished by other means, America will remain open to modifying or removing the tariffs for individual nations, as long as we can agree on a way to ensure that their products no longer threaten our security,” the news agency quotes Trump as stating. “We're going to show great flexibility,” he adds.

CDRA partners with association management company

The Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA), Milwaukee, celebrated the 25th anniversary of its meeting, C&D World, in Nashville Feb. 20-13 and announced strategic initiatives designed to guide its efforts to serve the C&D industry. The group also held a fundraiser for its issues and education fund.

During the meeting, Troy Lautenbach, CDRA president, announced the group has retained association management company Bostrom, with offices in Chicago and Washington, to manage the group’s activities. “The Bostrom team brings tremendous organizational, government affairs, events and resource management experience to the CDRA. By leveraging this experience CDRA will continue its growth and expand member services and value,” Lautenbach said during C&D World.

Bostrom has begun its work with the association and will be collaborating with the CDRA board of directors to update its strategic plan. This will lead to a range of initiatives focused on driving increased awareness of the societal value construction materials and demolition debris recycling brings to communities throughout North America and continued market development for reclaimed resources. Bostrom’s Mik Bauer will serve as account manager. In this role, he is the primary liaison for CDRA. Bauer brings more than 6 years of managing professional membership associations and nonprofit organizations.

During C&D World, the association also held its annual fundraiser. The event raised nearly $63,000 to be used to fund research, education and other initiatives aimed at advancing C&D recycling. The fund has been active since 2000, funding several research projects and outreach efforts supporting all facets of C&D recycling.

Emterra Group, a Burlington, Ontario-based company owned and operated by women, is using International Women’s Day, March 8, 2018, to celebrate recent minority business certifications the company’s divisions have received.

“In an industry traditionally dominated by men, it’s nice to be recognized for being a woman and a minority,” says Emmie Leung, founder and CEO of Emterra Group. “By adding these certifications to our organization’s resume, we are distinguishing ourselves from our competitors and showcasing the contributions we have made to Canada’s social fabric.”

Emterra Group is a family-owned and operated international organization with four distinct divisions, 25 locations and more than 1,100 employees across Canada and in the U.S. state of Michigan.

To become certified as a women’s business enterprise through WBE Canada, Emterra Environmental participated in “a rigorous and stringent due diligence process to confirm that the business is owned and managed by women,” the company says. To achieve certification through CAMSC, Emterra’s Canadian divisions followed a similar process to confirm the business is owned and controlled by members of a minority group.

Along with these new certifications, Emterra also enjoys the benefits of having access to a pool of other certified enterprises, adding diversity to its supply chain.

Emterra Group is a leader in waste resources management in Canada. Its four divisions offer municipal and industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) customers a fully integrated approach to collecting, processing and marketing waste, recyclables, packaging and printed paper, organic waste, used tires and waste liquids. Emterra has operations in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and in the U.S. state of Michigan. The company annually ships approximately 500,000 metric tons of recyclables to end markets to be remanufactured into new products.

Sims Metal Management acquires Morley Waste Traders

Sims Metal Management Ltd., with headquarters in Sydney and New York City, has announced the acquisition of the Morley Waste Traders and Lord and Midgley (Morley) businesses, a United Kingdom-based metal recycler with 10 facilities across Yorkshire. With the purchase, Sims will now operate 50 metals recycling facilities across the United Kingdom.

The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed; however, Sims says the purchase price consideration is not material to the company.

Alistair Field, Sims group CEO, says, “Morley’s operations in north England fit strategically with our own current footprint and will be a valuable addition to our Europe Metals business. The acquisition is consistent with our strategy of disciplined growth through complementary bolt-on acquisitions in our core markets.”

Paul Wright, managing director of Europe Metals for Sims, says, “Our acquisition of these businesses is an excellent example of how our U.K. growth strategy is taking shape. Morley’s large ferrous and nonferrous processing facilities will extend our footprint into new markets while offering local businesses competitive solutions to their metal recycling needs. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues into the Sims UK team.”

Stan Whittaker, managing director of Morley, says, “We are very proud to have spent 58 years building successful metal recycling businesses across the North of England. As a global metal recycling leader, we think Sims Metal Management is the perfect company to take our staff and sites into the future.”

Sims Metal Management is one of the world’s largest metal and electronics recyclers, with more than 250 facilities in 18 countries and more than 4,800 employees.